The utility of two-dimensional digital printing processes, whereby ink is deposited on a two-dimensional substrate in accordance with digital data, is well known. However, relatively little attention has been given to the issue of ink deposition on a substrate with a significant third dimension.
This is despite the fact that three-dimensionality has long been known as an effective communication tool. For example, the Parthenon of Ancient Greece, constructed around 447-438 BC, was decorated with elaborate low relief sculpture called the “Parthenon Frieze” or “Elgin Marbles.” This relief sculpture is widely regarded as some of the greatest artwork ever created. The effectiveness of the deposition of color, for relief sculpture, has also long been recognized. In fact, the Parthenon Frieze itself is known to have been painted by the Ancient Greeks.
There are, of course, numerous additional examples of the utility of three-dimensionality for effective communication and/or representation. Another example is the area of portraiture, in which the “likeness” of a person can be preserved by a sculpture or “bust.” Prior to the invention of photography, the preservation of a person's likeness, in either two-dimensional (e.g., a painting) or three-dimensional form, was reserved for those persons of sufficient wealth and/or importance to warrant the artistic labor necessary. The advent of photography greatly democratized the production of two-dimensional portraiture, but the use of sculpture has remained a technique still largely reserved for the wealthy and/or powerful.
The mass commercialization of two-dimensional imagery has led, in modern times, to the pursuit of ever more “realistic” and accurate two-dimensional print processes. Such improvements in two-dimensional printing have led to ink deposition technologies that are increasingly suitable for only two-dimensional use. For example, with regard to “ink jet” technology, production of higher resolution printing (e.g., advancing the “dots per inch” or “dpi” from 600 to 1200) has been achieved by the production of smaller ink droplets. To utilize the greater resolution of the smaller droplets, the “flight distance” (i.e., the distance between the print head nozzles and the surface of the substrate) of modern ink jet printers has been steadily reduced. This is due to the fact that, in general, a greater flight distance provides greater opportunity for the introduction of errors into the trajectory of the ink drops.
It would therefore be useful to “re-think” ink jet printing technology, and it's evolution, from the perspective of printing upon a three-dimensional substrate, and thereby offer more opportunity for the use of sculptural effects in the process of producing effective communication and/or artistic works.